In fact, there hasn’t been a single incident of water contamination anywhere in Canada due to hydraulic fracturing — a well completion practice that involves fracturing rock underground by pumping fluids mixed with sand at high pressure — according to the association that represents the companies that do it.

Yet fear of the technology, known as fracking, stoked by environmental activists and based on incidents and poor regulation outside the country, has led to so much hysteria that Quebec continues to ban it and in New Brunswick recently sparked violent protests.

Meanwhile, demand for the technology is increasing as industry repositions itself to produce oil and gas from resource plays.

The fear has led the Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC) to respond by developing a code of conduct that promotes best practices in cooperation with affected communities and to increase public understanding of what fracking is really about.

Announced Wednesday, the code is backed by 11 major hydraulic fracturing companies in Canada and is aligned with practices already implemented by oil and gas producers. According to PSAC, it’s also aligned with or exceeds government regulations.

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With fracking under so much attack, industry had to do something, said Brad Fedora, president and CEO of Canyon Services Group.

“Our customers absolutely demand responsible operations, and without responsible operations you are out of business in Canada,” he said.

The code covers five key areas: water use, fracturing fluid disclosure, technology development, health and safety, and community engagement.

The group said input from communities over the past six months showed the main concern is water — where it’s sourced, how it’s hauled, how it’s recovered and recycled, how it’s disposed.

Communities are also worried about the types of fluids pumped underground. As part of the code, companies have made a commitment to disclose the additives they are using as soon as possible and to recommend options that are better for the environment. British Columbia and Alberta are already using a website called FracFocus to show fluids on a well-by-well basis.

The code calls for more spending on technology development to reduce water use and improve environmental performance.

There’s also commitment to increase communication and dispel myths. Many of the practices incorporated into the code have been used in Canada for years, but the public is unaware of them.

“In a lot of areas, you hear only one side of the story,” Fedora said. “We are trying to give the other side with factual information.”

Fears are largely coming from experiences outside Canada, where regulations are less stringent and the technology less known, said Mark Salkeld, president and CEO of PSAC.

“The regulatory regime in Canada and in Alberta, in particular, can’t be compared to other parts of the world,” he said. “We have been doing it for so many years. It’s not fair to compare Canadian operations to other parts of the world.”

Of course there is a cost to all of this, said PSAC chairman John Gorman, vice-president (Canada) at Halliburton Co., which increases the need for high oil and gas prices.

And it’s happening when drilling activity in Canada is hardly hopping due to uncertainty about export pipelines and low natural gas prices.

Also Wednesday, PSAC announced its drilling forecast for 2014, which calls for 10,800 wells to be drilled in 2014, down 1.5% from 2013, which is expected to end with 10,960 wells.

The biggest anticipated activity declines are in Manitoba, where drilling is expected to weaken by 7.7%, and in Saskatchewan, down 3.5%. Drilling in Alberta is expected to stay steady, while British Columbia could see an increase of 2.2% relative to this year.

But some of the declines are the result of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, which allow industry to increase production from fewer wells. In less hysterical times, it would have been seen as a plus for the environment.

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